


Adrift in time

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22302214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Memories warped and twisted beyond belief, the Doctor sets out across their timeline in a desperate attempt to find out who did this, and which memories are real. But every attempt is met with enemies, and the Doctor finds themself stalked by a rogue Time Agent.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Blank slate

**Author's Note:**

> Italics are for diary entries, memories, etc.  
> I don’t own Doctor Who. Enjoy!

_Diary Entry #1_

_I may as well start a diary. I won’t have any other way of telling the truth from lies - this is my best bet. So I’ll start with the first thing I remember after the incident._

_I was sitting in a cold room on the Tardis, mind gone blank. I didn’t know why, or how. There was just this horrible sensation of-_

_Nothing. There was nothing. It was like being asleep, I suppose - everything was blurred, I had no idea where I was, and none of my sense seemed to be working properly. I still don’t think they are._

_The only thing before the memory wipe I am certain of is being on my knees, in my previous body, in front of a hazy figure. Then it all goes blank, and I am in this new body._

_It has been nine days since the incident (I don’t have a better name for it) and I still feel so... wrong. Out of proportion, isolated. I can’t see properly, or hear, or smell, or feel-_

_I can’t sense anything properly. Not even the simplest thing, like what time it is. But maybe this is a chance to reset, and figure myself out again. To learn who I am. A blank slate._

_I can only hope things will get better from here._

* * *

They are certain this is the only way out. To cross their own timestream and re-establish their memories. Of course, with no idea where to go it will be tricky to do. This will take time, lots of time. Where to go first?

Maybe just set the Tardis for a random place and hope for the best. It’s not ideal, not for a Time Lord. Maybe leaving the Tardis will get their sense back to normal. This lack of direction, lack of guidance is frustrating. It needs to end soon.

“Hey, Sexy. Ready for another adventure?”

Their voice sounds disjointed, detached. It’s an awful, suffocating sensation.

_Is there anywhere you want to go?_

The Tardis’s voice sneaks into their head, a comforting feeling amidst the fog of their world.

“How about we just pick a random destination?”

_Sure._

The Tardis activates, hurling them into a different location.

They’d forgotten just how much they loved this.


	2. Caged storms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor lands in a familiar place, and meets a new companion.

_Diary Entry #7_

_I have pieced together a few things, though I won’t write them down, just in case someone finds this. My memories are blurred in places, with long gaps between some; many memories are just flashes, pictures._

_It’s disconcerting. I am a Time Lord; things like this just don’t happen. My senses are returning to normal - I now know what time it is, wherever I am. Still, I cannot relax. Who knows what may come up? What might be just around the corner?_

_I still fear whatever took my memories. They would have to be immensely clever to outwit me. That’s not arrogance, by the way. It’s the truth._

* * *

They land in a small room, with dirty metal walls. It feels high-tech, and yet abandoned. Streaks of blood stain the cell - it must be a prison. A number is scrawled on the walls - the prisoner’s identity, presumably. 05639.

They wince. The stench of unwashed bodies lingers, enough to make the Doctor dizzy. Clearly nobody bothers to clean this place. Turning around, something catches their eye - a humanoid figure curled up in a dingy corner, hands over her ears.

She looks terrified.

Which, given a random person in a blue box just appeared in her room, is a reasonable reaction.

Darting eyes, knees pulled up to her chest, trying to avoid the Doctor’s gaze. Auburn curls falling over her face, hiding her from sight. A shield of sorts. They can’t help their sudden wariness - why would someone be scared of them?

“What are you doing here?” the girl asks, hands moved into her pockets. Jammed in place. “Nobody’s visited for a while. How does your machine work?”

She’s surprisingly confident for a prisoner. What is this place, and what had she done to get here?

“Why should I tell you? You’re a prisoner,” they retort.

“You know, I should call the guards, ask them to arrest you because you were trying to rescue me.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would. In fact, I will. Guards!” she says.


	3. Stand and deliver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor is confronted by various people. Some of them better than others.

_Diary Entry #13_

_Is she dangerous? I am not certain. Still, what is a teenager doing in Stormcage? She can’t be older than 20; she looks about 17 or 18 to me. Far too young for this kind of prison. I certainly don’t trust her. Not after everything that’s happened to me._

_My memories are much clearer now. I know everything that happened to me up to my twelfth incarnation (fourteenth, strictly speaking). The only thing I cannot remember is my thirteenth regeneration. I remember regenerating, and then-_

_Nothing._

* * *

“Guards!”

The Doctor sighs. It’s a familiar situation, although generally not initiated by prisoners. The Tardis is an easy method of escape, but a bit...

Conspicuous. The massive blue box is hardly a good disguise, no matter how much they like it, and just this once they wish they had a vortex manipulator. Just once.

The guards have arrived before they can escape, and the Doctor groans. They scan the sea of faces, looking for a way out, when they freeze. What in the worlds is _he_ doing here?

* * *

Jack grins. Finally, something interesting. The prisoner is in trouble for once. He’d taken on this assignment for the Time Agency, and a bit of excitement, but nothing very interesting had happened. Now, though...

He corners the stranger, smiling. “Stand and deliver!”

Rather cliché, he knows. An old Earth phrase from a thief; as a conman, he appreciates it. The figure visibly groans, as if annoyed at him.

“You deaf? Back away from the prisoner, and look at me!” he yells. The stranger cocks their head at him. Curious. The prisoner is rolling her eyes, and both seem to recognise him. Even curiouser - no, that's not a word, is it? He shrugs. Whatever.

“You expect me to listen to you?” the girl asks sharply. “I may be a prisoner, but I’m not an _idiot._ ”

Jack shrugs. “I have a gun.”

“And I have my wits. Can’t say the same for you, human.”

Anyway. He strolls outside the prison cell, not taking his eyes off the stranger who shouldn’t be there. “Explain.”

Short. Snappy. Dramatic, plenty of flair. Something most Time Agents are _distinctly_ lacking.

“Jack, we haven’t got time for that. I’m the Doctor, by the way,” they say. The Doctor steps forwards, sonic screwdriver in hand. Odd; they appear to recognise him. Jack shrugs; they can’t be dangerous.

Probably.

* * *

The girl shivers. Jack Harkness is not the best person to meet.

Especially not given... certain events. No, it’s probably best if she gets out of here, and fast. The Doctor is likely suspicious, and she really doesn’t want to explain _why_ she’s here. Not around these two.

But it’s doubtless better to leave than to stay in this dump. There are plenty of people here who would kill her, and several who wouldn’t mind hurting her.

Not like it hasn’t happened before. Not like she’d care if they did. Abandonment, prison, injury are all a price to be payed, and certainly worth it.

She leaves through the Tardis, and doesn’t look back.


End file.
